


You’re my rhinoceros

by kyjr



Category: Johnny's Entertainment, KAT-TUN (Band), Kanjani8 (Band)
Genre: Gen, Humour, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-14
Updated: 2013-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-29 09:51:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1003974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyjr/pseuds/kyjr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a little girl named Yuki comes into Ryo’s life, he’s not entirely sure what to make of it. Luckily, Koki is there to help him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You’re my rhinoceros

**Author's Note:**

> Christmas fic for[](http://luna-truths.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://luna-truths.livejournal.com/) **luna_truths**.

 

When the doorbell rang that afternoon, Ryo was expecting Pi to be standing there, arms weighed down by beer and ridiculous amounts of buttered popcorn.

  
What he found, however, was a little girl, barely six years old on his doorstep, all pigtails and big black eyes, looking up at him.

  
“Good afternoon,” she said politely, her voice as tiny as her body, “My name is Yuki.”

  
“Uh—“ Ryo was dumbfounded. “Hello?”

  
Six year old girls didn’t usually appear in front of his door like this. He wasn’t quite sure what to do.

  
The little girl – Yuki – blinked, her eyes full of some emotion Ryo couldn’t place.

  
“Yuki!” another, sharper voice sounded, and Yuki turned.

  
“Grandma,” she said, quite calmly. The woman ran up the driveway, panting as she hauled a large suitcase behind her. Ryo couldn’t help but notice how the once business-like case was now covered in unicorn snickers, so bright that they hurt his eyes.

  
“Grandma?” Ryo repeated to himself.

  
The woman looked up at him from smoothing down her skirt. She was in her mid-fifties, short black hair flecked with grey and the beginnings of wrinkles around her mouth. “My name is Sato Yoshiko,” she said, straightening up to look Ryo in the eye. The expression on her face was that of someone expecting some kind of reaction, but Ryo was clueless.

  
“Hi,” he said back, holding out his hand, “Nishikido Ryo.”

  
Yuki rocked backwards and forwards, lifting herself up on her toes to try and peek at the inside of his house. Yoshiko’s expectant expression dropped, but she took Ryo’s hand and shook it.

  
“This is not the first time we’ve met,” she said finally, as Ryo was getting ready to just shut the door on them.

  
“What?” he asked, shocked. He was sure he had never seen her before in his life – the little girl, especially.

  
“I think,” Yoshiko paused. “I think we should talk inside.”

  
Ryo, now thoroughly confused, stood aside to let them in. Yuki rushed forward, taking in everything from the framed photographs to the empty pizza boxes on the kitchen bench. Yoshiko made a face.

  
Ryo told them to sit on the couch, quickly wiping away the breadcrumbs, which had fallen from last night’s dinner, off the cushions. “So, what is it?” he asked, placing himself down on the edge of the coffee table.

  
“Do you remember Sato Sumiko?” she asked, voice low as if to not let Yuki hear. Ryo nodded, slowly remembering her long brown hair; her perfume; her large eyes. He remembered how she would sing in the shower; the way she would curl her hair around one finger when she was thinking; the way she would pick apart bread before eating it.

  
Sumiko was his first love.

  
Ryo suddenly felt like something hit his chest, hard. He looked up at Yoshiko. Back then, her hair was always pulled up into a bun, rushing around the family kitchen with her brown apron on, face red from the heat of the steam. Her face was younger, back then, smoother and sharper, but she was unmistakeably Sumiko’s mother.

  
And then there was Yuki.

  
“I remember her,” he croaked, so many emotions tumbling about inside him. His eyes were fixed on little Yuki, who was twirling one pigtail about as she inspected his CD collection. Now that he was really looking at her, he could see Sumiko in her. “How… how old is she?” he had to ask.

  
“Six,” Yoshiko answered, and Ryo felt his stomach drop. Yoshiko took in his wide-eyed expression, and nodded. “She’s yours.”

  
What was one meant to say to that? “…Oh...I—what?”

  
Yoshiko sighed, and set a hand upon Ryo’s knee. “Sumiko wanted her to meet her father, one day,” she explained, but Ryo was looking past her, to Yuki, who was now smiling softly and humming to herself as she opened every cupboard in Ryo’s kitchen. “When she died last year, I supposed I should let her meet you.”

  
Ryo jerked. “When—what?” he asked, his heart pounding in his chest as he tried to take in what Yoshiko had just said. “She… she’s dead?”

  
“Shh!” Yoshiko hissed, quickly moving to sit next to Ryo as Yuki looked up from what she was doing. “She doesn’t really understand it all,” she said quietly, and Ryo nodded, his mind still whirling from the news. Yoshiko sat back, her eyes downcast as she continued to speak in hushed tones. “She died from cancer. It was a three year battle, but it grew to be too much for her. She told me she wanted you to see your daughter. She said… she said that you needed to see her. You needed to know her.”

  
Yoshiko’s voice cracked, and she turned away, wiping her tears away quickly. Ryo awkwardly pet her on the shoulder, and she smiled. “I can’t believe I didn’t know,” Ryo murmured.

  
“We didn’t know how to tell you,” Yoshiko said. “We didn’t know if you wanted to know.”

  
Ryo nodded. After all, it had been six years.

  
“I want you to look after her.”

  
Ryo’s eyes widened and he moved to stare at her. “What?”

  
“Just for a few months,” Yoshiko urged. “She needs a parent around, Nishikido. She needs you.”

  
“No,” Ryo said forcefully, watching the little girl. “She needs someone who can look after her. I’m busy all the time; I barely have time to scratch myself, let alone take care of another living being. I’d probably forget to feed her or something.”

  
But Yoshiko was shaking her head. “No, I trust you. And it’s impossible to forget to feed her, she’ll annoy you until you do,” she laughed.

  
“It’s a stupid idea,” Ryo protested, watching as Yoshiko stood and fetched Yuki’s bag. “What’re you doing?”

  
“These are all her clothes,” Yoshiko explained. “And some of the things she couldn’t part with. Like her toy unicorn – do not go anywhere without it.”

  
Ryo got to his feet. “I’m not looking after her! What, you just turn up here and expect me to drop everything and take care of a child? I have work to do—I’m an idol! I can’t just appear with this kid and—“

  
“Nishikido-san?”

  
Ryo stopped mid-rant, quickly looking down into the wide eyes of Yuki. “…Yes?”

  
“I can take care of myself,” she said proudly. “I can tie my shoes, and make toast, and I even eat the crust now,” she beamed.

  
Ryo practically felt his insides melt.

  
“Can I stay with you, Nishikido-san?” she asked, and as Ryo looked down into those eyes of hers, he could feel himself crumble.

  
She had his eyes. Sumiko’s nose.

  
He found himself nodding, and smiled at the way her face lit up. “Really?” she asked, and Ryo just nodded again, thoughts of extra groceries and hiding the alcohol running through his head. “Thankyou very much, Nishikido-san!” she squeaked, and bowed deeply before rushing to hug his legs.

  
Ryo froze, looking at the small child clinging to him. She was his. She was his, and he was going to be looking after her.

  
Oh, this was a very bad idea.

 

>>><<<

 

Ryo had no idea how to look after a child. He realised this as he was standing in the doorway, waving goodbye to Yoshiko as her car drove away down the street.

  
“What should we do now?” she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Ryo cast a look over to the stack of wooden planks that now sat on his doorstep, and sighed.

  
“I suppose I should set your bed up, huh,” he said, and she nodded happily, rushing forward to grab the smallest pieces she could carry.

  
The bed was difficult to set up; it was old, so it came with no instructions. Ryo spent most of the time cursing Yoshiko for dumping Yuki with him, for being a horrible grandmother who apparently didn’t have enough time or money to take care of her anymore. “So she leaves her grandchild with a complete stranger…” Ryo muttered, cursing as two of the wooden panels fell on his foot.

  
“Grandma is going to come and see me every day,” Yuri said, sitting cross-legged on the floor and handing Ryo screws he didn’t need. “That’s what she said.”

  
“Did she now,” Ryo murmured, eyebrows furrowed as he realised he had just attached the foot of the bed upside-down. “Fuc—dge. Fudge. I meant to say fudge.” Ryo was going to have to learn to swear less.

  
“What do you like, Nishikido-san?” Yuki asked suddenly, giving up on handing Ryo things and resorting to playing with her braids.

  
“Huh?”

  
“Do you like cookies, or butterflies, or unicorns?” she asked, holding up her stuffed toy. Ryo just stared.

  
“No.”

  
“…oh.”

  
They were quiet for a while, as Ryo struggled with the bed frame, and Yuki hugged her unicorn. “What’s for lunch?”

  
“…lunch?” Ryo looked over to her, then down to his watch. It read 7.30 in the afternoon. Ryo leapt up, and rushed to the kitchen, flinging open cupboards to see what he had to give her. There was nothing in the cupboard, and barely anything adequate for a child to eat in the fridge. The loaf of bread he had was turning green.

  
“Can I have fairy bread?” Yuki asked, clambering up onto a stool and swinging her legs.

  
“Uuh… no…” Ryo answered distractedly. He didn’t even know what fairy bread was. “Alright, let’s just order something…”

  
He detached one of the flyers from the fridge and looked over to Yuki. “What do you want for dinner?”

  
“I don’t mind,” she said politely, looking completely bored with this conversation now.

  
“What do kids have for dinner...” he mumbled to himself. Then—“Did you have lunch?” When Yuki shook her head, his eyes went wide. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  
“You were busy,” she said.

  
“I knew it! I _knew_ I would forget to feed you—where’s my phone?” Ryo practically flew about the kitchen, until he found his phone stashed under a pile of bills. “Jin? Jin! What do small children eat?” he asked into the receiver.

  
“I…what?” came the fuzzy answer.

  
“Kids, Jin! What do they eat for dinner?”

  
“Wh…Ryo, it’s _three in the morning_ over here.”

  
“I don’t give a shit; now tell me!”

  
“Ugh—just… why don’t you just get takeout?” Jin said, and promptly hung up.

  
Ryo sighed and slammed the phone down, glaring at it as if Jin could feel his anger across the sea in America. “I’ll get pizza, then.”

  
Yuki looked confused as Ryo dialled the number into his phone and pressed it to his ear. He cast her a look, before focusing on the voice in his ear, and ordered two pizzas for the both of them.

  
“Pizza should be here in about twenty minutes,” he said, slumping against the kitchen bench. Yuki nodded. “What time do you go to bed?”

  
“Grandma says that I have to go to sleep at eight-thirty,” she explained. “And dinner is at six.”

  
“…whoops.” Ryo chuckled. “We should probably finish your bed, then.”

  
They spent the next half an hour trying to finish the bed – the pizza was running late – and Ryo actually managed to get it set up. It looked out of place in his study, bright purple against stark whites and greys, but he was proud of himself for finally finishing it. It only took him a few hours.

  
The doorbell rang and he ran to answer it before Yuki could, practically slamming the door in the delivery guy’s face before he could see her. He didn’t need rumours right now. Not after that bitch took those photos of him and sold him out to Friday. He never liked her, anyway.

  
“Dinner’s here!” he called, and Yuki came running out of the room, eagerly sitting at the table and looking up at him.

  
“Should I get plates?” she asked, and Ryo paused.

  
“Uuh. Yeah. Sure,” he answered, and she bounded into the kitchen, fishing around in the cupboards for the things she needed. Ryo normally just ate the thing from the box.

  
Yuki placed two plates on the table, pressing her hands together before taking a piece from the box. “Are you eating too, Nishikido-san?” she asked, in that tiny voice of hers.

  
“Yes, sorry,” he said, rushing to grab a slice of pizza. He watched as she wrinkled her nose a little, carefully removing the pieces of mushroom on the top of the pizza. “You don’t like mushrooms?”

  
She froze, slowly looking up at him. “Is…is that okay?” she asked, worriedly.

  
Ryo rushed to answer. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I don’t like fish,” he shared, and laughed at the way her eyes widened.

  
“No fish? What do you eat, then?”

  
“Food,” he answered, far too used to these kinds of questions. She seemed to think that his answer was adequate, and continued to pick at her pizza. They finished quickly, and a quarter of the second pizza was thrown into the fridge for lunch tomorrow.

  
If Ryo remembered it.

  
“Is it bedtime yet?” Yuki yawned. Ryo nodded, glancing at the time.

  
“Yeah, let’s get you to bed.”

  
She changed herself into her pyjamas, her unicorn tucked under her arm as she clambered into the bed. Ryo really hoped he had tightened those screws enough. Yuki wiggled under the covers, and smiled up at him. “Goodnight, Nishikido-san,” she said sleepily, her eyes already closing.

  
“Goodnight, Yuki.”

  
An hour later, Ryo had Jin screaming in his ear, demanding to know about this child that Ryo was looking after. Ryo hung up on him.

 

>>><<<

 

The next few days were madness. Ryo had to tell Johnny, who just sat there with this expression caught between amusement and anger. Johnny didn’t say that much normally, and he just kind of nodded at Ryo, who supposed that he wasn’t in too much trouble.

  
Which was strange, because he’d gotten into trouble for merely sneezing one day. But that was Takizawa’s fault, and they never mentioned it again.

  
Ryo had to drag Yuki around with him when he was at work, leaving her in the dressing room as he had photos taken and was interviewed. She didn’t seem to mind much, too distracted by her colouring book, but Ryo felt his mind wandering as the photographer barked orders at him, telling him to focus.

  
Was she okay? Was she still in the room he left her in? Was Yoko still in there with h--

  
Oh God. Why did he leave her with _Yoko._

  
“Yokoyama!” he yelled, when he was finally done, rushing down the hallway and wrenching the door open, “What have you done?!”

  
“I haven’t done anything!” Yoko screeched, eyes wide. “Was I meant to have done something?!”

  
“Nishikido-san!” Yuki said happily, waving. “Yokoyama-san helped me colour in!”

  
Ryo ignored both of them, marching over to her book and flipping through it.

  
No penises. Good.

  
“This is… pretty good, Yuki…” he said, supposing he should say _something_ about the horrid colouring. He didn’t know why Rapunzel had badly drawn antlers atop her head, or why her chameleon was bright pink.

  
“Yokoyama-san did that page,” she explained, and Yoko beamed. Ryo stared. “I did this page!”

  
“Well, that… that is actually quite good,” Ryo said, impressed. Then, “You take after your father.”

  
His eyes widened – he didn’t mean to say that; it had just slipped out; what was he thinking – but then Yuki was grinning up at him, her eyes shining happily, and his heart calmed.

  
Yoko clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re sweet, kid,” he said, leaning down to ruffle Yuki’s already messy hair, “But I colour better than you do.”

  
Yuki glared up at him. “She has green hair. And red skin,” she said. Ryo snorted. His kid had attitude.

  
Yoko looked down at her for a while. “Yep, that settles it,” he sighed, walking out of the room.

  
“Settles what?”

  
“She’s definitely your kid.”

 

>>><<<

  
It was Monday morning.

  
And apparently, Yoshiko had forgotten to tell Ryo something important.

  
“It’s time for school, it’s time for school!” Yuki practically shrieked, jumping up and down in the doorway. “Come _on,_ Nishikido-san, we’re gonna be late!”

  
Ryo grumbled, shrugging into his jacket and grabbing his keys, making sure to remember the crumpled piece of paper which he had scrawled the name of the preschool onto. “I don’t even know where this is,” he whined as Yuki pulled on his shirt, practically dragging him out the door.

  
He had already called Yoshiko, to both yell at her for neglecting to tell him that she needed to go to school, and to get the name of the place. “I’m gonna be so late…”

  
“Me too!” Yuki said, already bundled into the backseat of his car and swinging her legs impatiently. She still had her backpack on. “Hurry up, Nishikido-san!”

  
“I’m coming!” he snapped, running a hand through his hair before climbing into the front. “Which direction is it?”

  
“I’m _six_ ,” Yuki said exasperatedly, “I don’t even know right from left yet!”

  
And so Ryo resorted to ringing Yoshiko back, clutching the phone to his ear as she spoke slowly, telling him which streets to turn down; go left at those traffic lights; it’s right behind that blue building— _not the first one,_ the one with the fence.

  
Yuki was out of the car in a flash, bouncing up and down on her feet impatiently as Ryo clambered out, too. “Goodbye, Nishikido-san!” she shouted, before rushing into the building without him.

  
“Oh,” Ryo murmured. “…Okay. Bye.”

 

>>><<<

 

Ryo didn’t know what to do.

  
“Do you think she’s alright?” he asked Hina, who just grumbled sleepily at him. “Yasu, do you think she’s alright?”

  
“I don’t know, Ryo,” Yasu snapped, “We still don’t know, since the last time you asked.”

  
Ryo knew he was in trouble when Yasu ran out of patience. The others did too, and Ryo decided that he should probably leave the room, especially when they were glaring at him like that. Except Maru, but that was probably because he was incapable of making any kind of serious face.

  
Ryo found himself on the rooftop, a cigarette between his lips and wondering what Yuki was doing. Was she alright? Was she happy? What if some little boy had pulled on her hair, or maybe she didn’t even make it to the classroom – maybe someone had kidnapped her inside where Ryo couldn’t see and—

  
“You’re gonna break the railing if you keep gripping it so hard.”

  
“Shut it, Ueda,” Ryo said, sighing, not even looking at the other.

  
Ueda was leaning against the wall behind him, bundled up against the cold. “Whatever,” he sighed, and walked up next to Ryo, resting his arms on the railing. “What’s up?”

  
“Nothing.”

  
“Hmm. There’s something wrong.”

  
“How do you know?”

  
“Cause your jacket is inside out,” Ueda answered, smirking a little as Ryo checked his jacket, then swore. “So, I heard you’ve got a kid.”

  
“Mm,” Ryo muttered, as he shrugged out of his jacket and righted it, “Wait, who told you?”

  
“Akanishi, of course,” Ueda chuckled. “You know that bitch can’t keep a secret.”

  
“Forgot,” Ryo grunted, taking a long drag of his cigarette and watching the smoke drift away. “She’s six.”

  
Ueda’s eyes went wide, but he still didn’t turn to him. “Wow. Nishikido Ryo with an illegitimate child?” he said dramatically. “That’s some scandal…”

  
“What goes on in Johnny’s, stays in Johnny’s,” Ryo muttered, but smiled when Ueda laughed.

  
“So, how did this kid get into your possession?” Ueda asked.

  
Ryo laughed. “She kinda just appeared,” he said, and Ueda nodded, like these things happened to him often. “And today she had to go to school and I had no idea…”

  
“She didn’t tell you?” Ueda asked, leaning over to casually take Ryo’s cigarette out of his fingers and up to his own mouth. He took a deep drag, and they both followed the smoke as it disappeared into the sky.

  
“I think she thought I was meant to know,” Ryo answered, watching Ueda’s fingers as he brought the cigarette up to his lips again.

  
“Mm. Nishikido?” Ueda asked, eyes twinkling as he turned to him and placed the cigarette back between Ryo’s lips.

  
“Yeah?” he said, feeling like Ueda was too close; his body was tingling pleasantly; Ueda was leaning in—

  
“Did you remember her lunch?”

  
And then the moment was gone, Ueda backing away and laughing at Ryo’s expression. “Oh _shit_.”

  
“It’s around lunchtime now; you’d better hurry,” he called to Ryo’s retreating figure. “Good luck!”

 

>>><<<

 

“Yes, yes, yes, I have a kid; her name is Yuki; she’s six; I only just found out about her; please take care of her ‘cause I don’t want Yoko to draw penises in her books,” Ryo said rapidly, dragging his daughter into KAT-TUN’s dressing room and swiping Ueda’s books off the coffee table so Yuki could set up.

  
“Hey!” Ueda cried, throwing his hands up. “That’s my new song, you bastard!”

  
“Yeah, I know,” Ryo muttered, helping Yuki take out her colouring books. “Just… I need someone to mind her, at least for a few hours. Try not to get into some sort of fight, or swear, or throw things.”

  
“Why are you looking at me?” Ueda asked, indignant. “…Nevermind.”

  
“You can leave her here,” Kamenashi said, smiling as he knelt down to Yuki’s level. “It’ll be fun.”

  
“Okay… thanks for this. I’ll be sure to punch Jin the next time I see him, as payment,” Ryo called over his shoulder as he left the room.

“Thankyou!” Kamenashi shouted back.

  
Three photoshoots and two interview (and a very hurried coffee break) later, Ryo was rushing back down the hallway, still struggling into his jacket.

  
“Nishikido-san!” Yuki chirped happily as Ryo barged into the room, “Look what Koki-san has been teaching me!” She held up a yellow paper crane, pride written all over her face.

  
“Oh?” Ryo asked, picking it up and turning it about. “It’s pretty good, Yuki.”

  
“You can take these home; teach your papa how to do it, too,” Koki said, smiling down at her from the couch. Yuki nodded, and gathered up the spare pieces of paper to throw into her bag.

  
“Where is everyone else?” Ryo asked, noticing belatedly that the others weren’t in the room – except Nakamaru, but he was sleeping on another couch, head falling off the cushion and mouth open.

  
“No idea,” Koki shrugged. “Kame and Ueda have drama stuff I think, and Taguchi has important idiotic things to do,” he explained.

  
“Right, well. Say goodbye to Koki, Yuki,” Ryo said distractedly, wondering why Yuki had plaits in her hair when he didn’t remember it that way this morning.

  
“Bye, Koki-san!” Yuki waved, shouldering her little backpack and picking up her unicorn.

  
“Thanks for looking after her,” Ryo added, throwing in a little bow, just in case. Koki just smiled.

  
“It’s all good. It was fun. She taught me how to make a frog,” he laughed, and showed off his pathetically folded paper frog.

  
“It looks like shit, man.”

  
“Shut up, I’m just learning!”

 

>>><<<

 

For the next week, after school, Ryo would leave Yuki in Koki’s care. The other welcomed her happily, and Yuki seemed to really love him, what with the way she would run into Koki’s arms as soon as Ryo opened the door for her.

  
Ryo felt a pang of something in his heart, but wasn’t sure what to make of it. He just shook it off.

  
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he would say, and Koki would always wave him off, grabbing Yuki’s hand and waving it, too.

  
As soon as the filming for some show or another – all the names seemed to run together after a while – finished, Ryo rushed as quickly as he could back to the building, wrenching KAT-TUN’s door open. “Sorry I’m a little late,” he panted, “But Hina couldn’t get his bloody lines right.”

  
“Hello, Nishikido-san,” Yuki smiled, and Ryo missed the way she stood up, holding out a card to him, as he chose that moment to collapse onto the couch next to Koki. Her face fell.

  
“Hey, Yuki. Koki, d’you think you could look after Yuki tonight? I’ve got late-night filming, and won’t be home till like midnight or so,” Ryo said tiredly, throwing an arm over his eyes. He felt Koki shift next to him.

  
“What do you think, Yuki?” Koki asked, “Do you think you’d like to stay over at my place tonight?”

  
“Stay with Koki-san?” Yuki asked, pausing as she zipped her bag back up, “Okay!”

  
“Yay!” Koki sat up and high-fived the six-year-old. Ryo slowly opened his eyes.

  
“You’re okay about it?”

  
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Koki said, turning to him. “We’ll have fun, right?” Yuki nodded, pigtails bouncing – when did those become braids, again? – and finished packing up, shouldering her backpack with a smile.

  
“Can we go now, Koki-san?”

  
Koki laughed. “Alright, alright.”

  
“Thanks, Koki. I’ll pick her up at n—“

  
But Koki was shaking his head. “I’ll drop her off at preschool for you, before coming to work,” he offered. “I don’t have anything else to do.”

  
Ryo slumped back into the couch with a sigh. “Thankyou so much, Koki.”

  
“No problem.”

 

>>><<<

 

“Koki-san’s house is so _nice;_ and he’s got a bunny, and a monkey, and a dog, and another dog, and he used to have a parrot but something happened and now he doesn’t have it anymore; and we ate something that he _cooked,_ and it was really nice even though it had onions in it.”

  
How Yuki was able to say all of that with only one breath, Ryo would never know.

  
The night had gone well, apparently. Koki had cooked some kind of curry, which Yuki had really liked, according to the detailed description she had given Ryo on the drive home. She hadn’t stopped talking for three hours straight.

  
“Eat your dinner,” he mumbled into his store-bought bento. He felt rather inadequate at the moment.

  
Yuki paused to practically shovel food into her mouth before starting again. “And he let me watch a movie about princesses and unicorns and—“

  
“Yuki,” Ryo muttered, through gritted teeth. “Just eat your food and get to bed.” There was only so much talk about unicorns and pink things that he could take during the day. It was starting to get to him.

  
Yuki went quiet, and Ryo sighed. Finally. Now he could get back to reading that script. They ate in silence, the only sound being that of Ryo turning the pages, or mumbling to himself.

  
The little girl was the first to finish her dinner, pressing her hands together in thanks before she stood to throw out the remainder of the food. “I’m going to bed now, Nishikido-san,” she practically whispered.

  
“Okay. Night.”

  
Ryo didn’t notice her eyes full of tears.

  
He didn’t even hear her cry herself to sleep that night.

 

>>><<<

 

It was Saturday. Saturday, and Ryo had a hyper six year old in his house, bounding around the place. “What should we do today, Nishikido-san?” she laughed, as he just stared.

  
“It’s nine o’clock in the morning,” he mumbled, voice not yet working due to lack of coffee. “Why are you up so early?”

  
“Grandma always wakes up early on Saturdays!” Yuki said, and Ryo made a mental note to ring that woman, later. She had been either visiting them every day or ringing them, asking them how things were going and checking to see if they were getting along.

  
Ryo still didn’t like the woman, though.

  
“Why don’t you get changed, and then we can figure out what to do,” Ryo said, and Yuki nodded eagerly before rushing into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

  
Ryo slumped down at the kitchen bench, nursing his cup of coffee between both hands and blowing at it carefully. He hadn’t had a day alone with the little girl yet, and wasn’t sure what to do. He did have to go get some groceries, though. Maybe they could go grocery shopping, then come home and—what? What would they do then? What would a six year old girl want to do?

  
Ryo was startled out of his thoughts by the doorbell ringing, and he sighed before going to answer it, coffee cup still in his hands. “What?” he asked gruffly, before realising who was standing outside his door. “Koki?”

  
“Yo,” he waved. Koki stepped past Ryo, looking about the place with interested eyes.

  
“What…are you doing here?” Ryo asked, shutting the door and quickly taking a sip of coffee. Coffee seemed to solve all his problems.

  
Koki turned and shrugged. “Maybe to help you be a better father?”

  
Ryo just stared. “You what?”

  
“You’re kind of… failing,” Koki said, averting his eyes and pretending to be very interested in a stain on the carpet. Ryo saw red.

  
“Don’t you dare tell me how I’m doing!” Ryo snapped, quickly walking up to the other and grabbing onto the collar of his shirt, “How would you know? What would you know? Do you know how hard it is for me? I practic—“

  
“She tells me, you know,” Koki said calmly, and Ryo quietened, his grip on Koki loosening.

  
“Koki-san?” Yuki called, peeking around the corner. “Nishikido-san, is that Koki-san?”

  
“Huh?” Ryo asked distractedly, “Oh. Yeah.”

  
Yuki ran from the corridor, a great big smile on her face and her arms out. Koki knelt down, ready for her embrace, and hugged her back tight once she reached him. Ryo watched the two, jealously flaring up in the pit of his stomach. “Hi, Yuki,” Koki said, into her hair.

  
“Koki-san, could you do my hair again?” Yuki asked, eyes hopeful. Koki nodded, adding that she needed to go and get her hairties first, and she was gone again, skipping back to her room. There was an awkward, tense silence as they waited for her to come back.

  
“I found them!” she shrieked, rushing back to Koki, who laughed.

  
“Turn around, then.”

  
Ryo watched as Koki parted Yuki’s hair down the middle, gently placing one half back over her shoulder, which she held obediently. He split the other half into three parts, and started flipping them over each other, one after the other, until he had a perfect plait. He tied it off, and then started on the other one.

  
Huh. So that was how you did it.

  
“What are you guys doing today?” Koki asked Yuki, as he worked. Yuki shrugged, looking up at Ryo.

  
“Nishikido-san? What are we doing today?” she asked, and Koki paused, meeting Ryo’s eyes.

  
“Uhh…”

  
“Why don’t we all go to the zoo?” Koki interrupted, and Yuki’s face lit up.

  
“Really?” she asked, her voice impossibly high. She looked back to Ryo for confirmation.

  
“Uuh…yeah. Sure.” Ryo didn’t even know where the zoo was.

  
Yuki made some kind of high-pitched noise and ran back to her room. “Don’t forget your jacket!” Ryo yelled after her, and she made another squeak to tell him that yes, she’s already found it. “What’s she doing in there?” he asked, mainly to himself, but Koki got to his feet.

  
“She’s getting her bag ready,” he answered, and Ryo could only nod. Stupid bastard knew more about his daughter than he did. Yuki came out soon enough, her little red bag fastened around her shoulders, and her unicorn tucked under her arm. “Are we ready?” Koki asked, and Yuki nodded, busy checking that she had everything.

  
“So, are we going?” Koki asked, this time to Ryo.

  
“I suppose so,” Ryo said, shrugging on his own jacket. “Isn’t it a bit early, though?”

  
“There’s no such thing as too early!” Koki punched his fist into the air, and Ryo had to laugh. Koki smiled, and took one of Yuki’s hands in his, walking to the door. “You want me to drive, or--?”

  
“You’d better drive; I haven’t been to the zoo since I was twelve,” Ryo explained, “I don’t even know if it’s in the same place.”

  
Koki looked at him. “You haven’t been since you were twelve?”

  
“…No. Is that bad?” Ryo was sure the world wasn’t going to end just because he hadn’t seen a few tigers in a while.

  
Koki stopped walking, and just looked at him. “Twelve?”

  
“Yes!” Ryo snapped, “So what? When was the last time you went?”

  
“…Last month.”

  
“…Oh.”

  
They were silent as they slipped into Koki’s car, which Ryo begrudgingly decided was quite comfortable, and smelt rather nice. Yuki practically talked non-stop the entire way there, but Ryo stopped listening, falling into some kind of daydream, his eyes unfocused as he watched the buildings flash past the windows. He could hear Koki’s rumble of a voice as he answered whatever question Yuki had asked, and the two laughed at something, but Ryo was paying no attention.

  
There was a song forming behind his closed eyelids.

  
Yuki leapt out of the car as soon as it was parked, bouncing on her toes as she waited impatiently for the adults to join her. “Ryo?” Koki called, shaking his shoulder carefully. “You asleep?”

  
“No,” Ryo grumbled, opening his door. “I was writing.”

  
Koki looked at him. “…Okay…”

  
“No, it—oh forget it,” Ryo sighed exasperatedly, climbing out of the car and joining Yuki, who was staring up at the zoo with wide eyes. “Have you ever been to the zoo before?” he tried, and Yuki nodded.

  
“I went to one with mummy, before…” she started, but cut her sentence short and wiped furiously at her eyes.

  
“Oh,” was all Ryo could say, unsure of what to do. But she was back to smiling and gawking up at the building in front of her quickly; the only sign that there had been any tears was a slight redness to her eyes.

  
“Are we going, or are you two just gonna stand there looking like idiots?” Koki laughed, watching the two from further down the path.

  
“...Don’t call my daughter an idiot!” Ryo yelped, and ran after Koki, who shrieked and almost bowled over an elderly lady in his haste to get away. “Come back here and face me like a man!”

  
Koki just shrieked again – which was very un-manly – and continued to twist away out of Ryo’s grip, laughing.

  
Ryo realised much later that yes, he was probably that embarrassing father that all children had.

 

>>><<<

 

“Fuck, has it always been that expensive?” Ryo muttered, and Koki hit him over the head. “Ouch! I’m sorry!”

  
Koki just looked at him smugly and continued walking into the zoo, the other two trailing after him, looking around them in awe. “Which way do you want to go?” Koki asked, turning around and clicking his tongue as he noticed that Ryo had gone one way, and Yuki had gone another, both their noses pressed against the glass of different enclosures. “Oi! We _stay together!_ Oh honestly, it’s like being in charge of two children.”

  
“What did you say?”

  
“Nothing!”

  
Ryo just glared and went back to staring at the gigantic lizard inside the enclosure.

  
“Penguins, penguins, _penguins!”_ Yuki called, grabbing onto Ryo’s hand suddenly and wrenching him away.

  
“Wha--?” Ryo just followed Yuki – what else could he do? – down the hill and to the right, past the lions, past the angry keeper who just glared at them as they rushed past him (Ryo glared right back), past the schoolgirls who swore they just saw Nishikido Ryo and Tanaka Koki following a small child.

Yuki’s pigtails were flying behind her as she ran, the biggest smile on her face, and Ryo found himself smiling to himself, adjusting their hands so his was wrapped around her smaller one. He lengthened his stride, and soon he was running next to her, almost pulling her along. He turned to see Koki laughing at them.

  
“Hurry up, loser!” Ryo poked his tongue out, and Koki’s face fell.

  
“Don’t you call me a loser, you brat!” he spat back, and his pace quickened. Yuki screamed, laughing as Ryo pulled her along, skidding around corners, and Ryo had no idea where they were heading anymore but as long as they won, it was fine.

  
“You can’t beat us!” Ryo yelled over his shoulder, “We’re Nishikido’s; you can’t win!”

  
They didn’t win.

  
They collapsed on a bench, panting, with Yuki’s hand still curled up in Ryo’s larger one.

  
“I’m sorry,” Koki panted, hands on his knees as he tried to get his breath back, “But didn’t you say I couldn’t win?”

  
“Shut up,” Ryo coughed, “And do something useful, like finding us drinks or something.”

  
‘Drinks or something’ turned into ice-creams, and the three wandered around the zoo dripping an ice-cream trail behind them. Yuki still wanted to see the penguins – and the unicorns, but Ryo kept telling her that Japanese zoos didn’t have unicorns anymore – so they headed over to where Koki was pointing.

  
“They don’t have any orcas, do they?” Ryo asked half-heartedly. Koki checked his trusty map, before shaking his head.

  
“Sorry.”

  
“It’s okay. I wasn’t expecting them, anyway.”

  
“Does Nishikido-san like them?” Yuki asked. Ryo nodded.

  
“They’re my favourite.”

  
Yuki’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

  
“…Yes.”

  
“Penguins!” she suddenly cried out, running forward. Ryo and Koki followed quickly, making sure they didn’t lose her in the crowd. Her shoulders suddenly slumped, and she walked back to them, the hint of a pout on her face.

  
“What’s wrong?” Ryo quickly asked, kneeling down to her level.

  
“I can’t see,” she said, in a small voice. Ryo stood back up, looking at Koki, who nodded.

  
“No daughter of mine is going to come here and not see penguins,” Ryo whispered to her. “Move it,” he spat, and the crowd parted slowly. “There you go.”

  
Yuki made her way to the front of the crowd – the zookeeper was feeding the penguins, giving a demonstration as he threw fish to the little animals, who snapped them up hungrily. She watched in fascination as he threw fish into the water, the small penguins quickly diving in after it. She stared at them as they made their way through the water, gracefully moving about as they searched for the fish. Thanks to the glass on the outside of the enclosure, Yuki could see them swim about beneath the water, gliding right up to her before changing course and shooting out of the water, landing awkwardly back on land.

  
“Penguins are funny things, aren’t they?” Ryo mused to Koki, who snorted. “What?”

  
“You’re like a penguin,” Koki said, and Ryo stared.

  
“If you say anything about the way I walk—“

  
“That wasn’t what I meant,” Koki deadpanned, and Ryo quietened. “But yes, you do walk like a penguin.”

  
“Hey!”

  
“I meant that… there are two sides to you,” Koki continued, and Ryo listened as he watched Yuki. “There’s the side that you show everyone, and then the side you show Yuki,” he said, and Ryo turned.

  
“What?”

  
Koki looked him in the eye. “Show her the Ryo that Kanjani8 knows. Show her the person the rest of us know. All she wants is you to be her father. She doesn’t need another guardian – she already has her grandmother for that. She just wants a father. She wants someone she can talk to about her day at school; she wants someone she can hug when she feels sick or sad or just because she can. She wants someone to hold her hand and tell her that everything’s gonna be okay.”

  
Ryo felt his stomach flip. “I’ve been trying really hard, Koki. I know I’m not the best father, but it’s only been a week, and… I don’t exactly know what to do.”

  
“You’re not meant to think too hard about it,” Koki answered, “You’re just meant to…know.”

  
“You’re not helping me at all,” Ryo grumbled, elbowing Koki.

  
Koki laughed, rubbing his side. “Sorry. Just… just be yourself around her. Stop being so awkward. Hold her hand, and talk to her, and for fucks sake, tell her what foods you like and what you like doing, because she won’t stop asking me, and I don’t know if you like pocky more than pudding.”

  
“Obviously I like pudding,” Ryo muttered, but felt a smile start to form on his face. “Pocky is for wimps.”

  
“Of course,” Koki replied, “Because pudding is so much manlier. Especially with those teeny spoons.”

  
Ryo could practically hear his own thoughts tumbling around inside his mind, flying back and forth as he tried to make sense of what Koki was telling him. But then Yuki was running back, Sumiko’s grin on her face, Ryo’s eyes laughing back at him, and suddenly he realised what Koki was saying.

  
He knelt down, and she smiled even wider (he didn’t even think it possible), rushing up to them. “How was it?” he asked, and Yuki beamed.

  
“They were jumping into the water and diving down and grabbing all the fish – all of it! There was nothing left at all!” she exclaimed breathlessly, and Ryo smiled.

  
“All of it?”

  
“All of it!”

  
“…Can we go see the bears now?” Koki whined, pulling lightly on Yuki’s hair and being a general pain.

  
“What do you think, Yuki?” Ryo asked, raising an eyebrow. Yuki copied him.

 

“I don’t know, Nishikido-san,” she said, and pretended to think deeply. “I think I want to go and see the elephants.”

  
Koki looked horrified. “What? But they’re on the other side of the zoo!”

  
Ryo laughed, and high-fived Yuki. “Tanaka - zero, Nishikido’s - one.”

  
“Yeah!”

  
“You two are both evil, and I don’t know why I wanted to come here with you,” Koki pouted.

  
“Because she’s adorable,” Ryo said simply, and Yuki blinked up at Koki, as if on cue. “Ha.”

  
“You two are plotting something,” Koki said, as they started moving again, “I don’t trust you.”

  
They went and saw the elephants, who were ‘very big and very grey and the little ones have hair on them, did you see that? Did you, Nishikido-san?’ And then they walked back to the bears, just because Koki kept bitching at them about it, shoving the map into their faces and pointing to the little picture of the bear on it. Koki got a photo of him standing in front of the bear, peace-sign and all, and was content for the rest of the time they spent there.

  
They were inside the gift shop, browsing through the ridiculously priced toys and ornaments, when Yuki started tugging at Ryo’s shirt. “What is it?” he asked, setting the stuffed red turtle toy down again. He didn’t think Jin would appreciate it. That, and he couldn’t be bothered shipping the thing over to him.

  
He felt a pang when he looked down, and realised her eyes were watery and her cheeks were pink with the effort of holding her sobs back. “What’s wrong?” he asked, panicked.

  
“I…I can’t find… my unicorn,” she sniffed, wiping furiously at her eyes. Ryo grabbed her wrist carefully, and knelt down.

  
“You lost it?”

  
Yuki nodded, her bottom lip trembling. “I don’t…know where I—where I put it,” she stuttered. Ryo put his hands to her cheeks and carefully wiped away the tears that had already escaped.

  
“Well then, we’d better go find it,” he murmured, and she nodded. “Koki! We’re going back in!”

  
“Wha…?” Koki said, turning from the display of colouring books. “But why?”

  
“Lost unicorn!”

 

“Oh god no.”

 

>>><<<

 

They split up, Koki going one way and the other two another way.

  
Yuki’s hand was firmly in Ryo’s grip as they ran, combing the zoo for the elusive unicorn. “The penguins!” Yuki suddenly yelped, and slipped her hand out of Ryo’s, darting away.

  
“Yuki!” Ryo shouted, rushing after her, making sure to never lose sight of her red dress in the crowd. “Come back!”

  
But Yuki didn’t, and Ryo found her standing by the penguin exhibit. “It’s not here…”

  
“Well then, we’ll go check the elephants, okay?” Ryo said, panting. She was faster than she looked. “Just don’t run off again.”

  
Yuki looked at him, and nodded. “Okay.”

  
The elephants were still lumbering about their enclosure, swaying their long trunks as they watched the people pass by. Ryo’s phone rang, and he answered it without even checking who it was. “Koki?”

  
“No, it’s Ueda.”

  
“Huh?”

  
“U-e-d-a,” the other said, spelling his name out slowly. “The bald one from that band you kind of like.”

  
“Yes, I know who you are,” Ryo said distractedly, looking about for the unicorn. He locked eyes with Yuki, who was still frantically searching, but she just shook her head, and they continued. “What do you want?”

  
“Koki rang me to tell you that he’s found a unicorn,” Ueda said in a completely serious tone.

  
“Oh, that—“

  
“I don’t want to know,” Ueda said quickly. “Really. And give Koki your number.”

  
Ryo laughed. “Alright. Thanks, Ueda.”

  
Ueda grumbled something. “Whatever,” he said, “Seriously, give him your number. I don’t want to be the person who relays everything to you.”

  
“Will do. How did you get my number, again?” Ryo asked, smirking. “Didn’t you wrestle it out of Yamapi’s phone when he was drunk that o---“

  
Ueda hung up on him.

  
“Yuki!” Ryo called, and the little girl came running.

  
“Yes?”

  
“Koki found it,” he said, and she shrieked happily, pulling on his hand.

  
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s _go_ ,” she said, dragging him back to the other side of the zoo.

  
“Hang on.” Ryo paused, staring at one of the signs leading down another path. “You wanted to see unicorns, right?”

  
Yuki nodded, confused.

  
“Then let’s go see unicorns.”

  
“Huh?”

  
Two minutes later, and Yuki was glaring up at him. “Nishikido-san, these aren’t unicorns.”

  
“Yes, they are,” Ryo replied, leaning over the edge of the enclosure and holding a hand out.

  
“No, they’re not,” she sighed, slumping against the wall. “They’re just rhinos.”

  
Ryo watched the large animals wander around their territory, their noses to the ground as they picked through their food for the day. There were only two of them, standing side by side, and making strange grunting sounds as they ate. They were a dusty brown colour, their skin looking rather like armour, and they looked very unwelcoming as they chewed their food.

  
“Look at their horns,” Ryo said, leaning down and pointing towards the animals. Yuki looked where he was pointing, begrudgingly.

  
“What about them?”  
“Have you ever thought that maybe, rhinos are just fat unicorns?” Ryo asked, and Yuki’s face turned thoughtful. “I mean, they’ve got the horns… maybe they just ate too much.”

  
“…but unicorns are white,” Yuki said slowly, watching the rhinos.

  
“Maybe. It says here that these are black rhinos,” Ryo said, reading from the information plate next to the fence. “And there is another kind of rhino that are white, but they’re very, very rare. See?” Ryo pointed to the plate, and even though Yuki couldn’t read it, she still stood on her tiptoes to look. “So maybe, these rhinos here are like black unicorns.”

  
Yuki thought upon what he had said, and a smile bloomed on her face. “Maybe.”

  
“Not ‘maybe’,” Ryo said. “I’m your father. I’m always right.”

  
Yuki nodded happily, linking her tiny fingers into Ryo’s. “Bye bye, unicorns,” she called, waving. One of the creatures lifted its head and snorted at them.

  
The smile didn’t leave Yuki’s face for the rest of the day.

 

>>><<<

 

The same smile was on Ryo’s face as he carried Yuki back to the house from the car. “She’s exhausted,” Koki commented, but Ryo was too scared to move in case Yuki woke up.

  
Koki opened the door for Ryo, who stepped inside carefully. Koki made himself at home, falling upon the couch with a grunt and fumbling around for the television remote. Ryo headed towards Yuki’s room, almost hitting her head on the doorframe as he managed to open the door. He grimaced, but practically tiptoed into the room, placing her down onto her bed cautiously.

  
He brought the covers up to her chin, after removing her shoes. He tucked the corners of the covers in, making sure she was warm enough, and smiled, watching her cling to her new stuffed rhino. “Good night, Yuki,” he whispered, brushing her hair out of her face before moving to walk out of the room. He paused, and turned back, carefully pressing a kiss to her temple. “Good night, my little girl.”

  
Yuki stretched, blearily blinking her eyes open. “Night, Dad,” she murmured, smiling up at him before falling asleep again.

  
“I love you.”

 

  
_Omake:_

  
“So rhinos are really unicorns?” Jin asked Yuki, months later. “But they’re just fat?”

  
“You could be a unicorn, Jin,” Yamapi called from the kitchen. Ryo snorted, and had to quickly rush to the kitchen, juice spilling down his chin.

  
“Damn it, Akanishi!”

  
“I did nothing!”

  
Yuki was nodding. “That’s what Dad said, right?” Ryo coughed his confirmation from the kitchen.

  
“It came out my _nose…”_

  
“So, what else has been happening in the land of Japan?” Jin asked, sitting cross-legged in Ryo’s living room, having what looked like entirely too much fun as Yuki tied his hair into numerous ponytails.

  
“You have pretty hair, Akanishi-kun,” she chirped, and he smiled that sappy smile he wore when a child was paying attention to him.

  
“Thankyou, little princess,” he answered, and Yamapi rolled his eyes as he entered the room. “What?”

  
“You’re such a sap.”

  
Jin just grinned. “So? What’s been going on? I know you two don’t tell me everything that’s been going on.” He winced as the little hair ties pulled at his hair. “Ow.”

  
“Well, Koki has a part-time job as my babysitter,” Ryo said, and Jin snorted.

  
“What is he, a sixteen year old girl?”

  
“That’s what he said…”

  
Jin snorted, and Yuki hit him over the head. “No moving!” she snapped.

  
“Sorry!”

  
“Oh, Jin? I need to give you something from Kamenashi,” Ryo said, setting his drink down.

  
Jin was immediately on guard. “What.”

  
“Yuki, come over here.”

  
“What are you—no! No, not th---OW, you bastard! What was that for!” Jin screamed, holding onto his shoulder. Ryo smirked.

  
“Yuki, you do not go around punching people,” Yamapi said, but Yuki was laughing, and paying no attention to him. “Unless they’re picking on you, and then I give you permission.”

  
“No, if people are picking on her, we’re gonna go punch them,” Ryo growled, and Yuki shrieked as he leapt forward and picked her up by her waist, spinning her around. “No-one touches my girl!” he said into her neck, blowing a raspberry at Yamapi as she laughed.

  
“And no-one touches my dad,” she said, as he put her back on her feet.

  
“Ha! Hear that?” Ryo said triumphantly.

  
“Or what?” Jin asked sneakily, and Ryo yelped as Jin grabbed him, flipping him down onto the couch face-first. Yuki squealed and jumped atop Ryo, batting at Jin’s arms.

  
“PI ATTACK!” Yamapi yelled, and almost squashed Yuki, throwing himself down on top of both Nishikido’s.

  
“It’s like a Nishikido pancake,” Jin laughed, and Yuki squealed again, from somewhere under Yamapi’s arm.

  
“You two don’t play fair!” she said, and Yamapi rolled off them, landing in a heap on the floor.

  
“Never,” he said. Then, “Will you do my hair, too?” Yuki glared at him before nodding. “Yes!”   


“You have pretty hair too, Yamapi,” she said, patting him on the top of the head. He beamed, and shot a glare at Jin.

  
Jin just stared. “You said I had pretty hair. Ryo, your kid is a liar.”

  
“Of course she is,” Ryo said, rather proudly, “She’s mine.”

  
Yuki turned and beamed at him, pulling purposefully on Yamapi’s hair to make him stay still.

  
“Oh my god you two, stop being so adorable.”

 

\--the end


End file.
